ABSTRACT
Diagnosing and solving problems with burners on heaters in the hydrocarbon and petrochemical industries often seem to be as much an art as a science. It is a basic scientific assumption that the principles of physics, chemistry, fluidics, hydraulics, and combustion do not change. Yet the myriad variables in a typical petrochemical operation sometimes make it appear that the equipment has a personality. The complexity of the sciences, multiplied by the many-staged processes in a typical plant, causes problems to occur that were not, and could not have been, anticipated by the design engineers. Moreover, although scientific principles remain the same, equipment changes with use. Parameters that may have been designed correctly change with time.
